The Other Side of the Seesaw
by Freakish Sweetheart
Summary: They first met when they were five then ten, then again at fifteen all on the same playground at the same red seesaw. Is it fate or just coincidence? Multi chapter fic for Faberry Week 2013 Day Two: Kid!Faberry. Starts T then M for later chapters
1. Do you mind if I sit?

**A/N: So this is for Faberry Week 2013 Day 2: Kid!Faberry. I was planning on making this a one shot, but my beta, Swankkyy, was really adamant about it being a multi chapter so we're writing it together, yay! Time jumps pretty quick in this chapter, but it slows down after this. I hope you guys enjoy it! And be sure to check out Swankkyy's stories as well!**

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**The Other Side of the Seesaw**

It's a beautiful spring day in Lima, Ohio. Perfect for a stroll through the park. Which is exactly what Leroy and Hiram are doing with their baby girl Rachel. They each hold one of her tiny hands and swing her back and forth between them with every step they take. She squeals with glee as she swings forward and giggles sporadically as she swings back. Her fathers beam at her and their hearts swell with joy.

When they finally put her back on her feet, her big brown eyes spot the playground up ahead. As they get closer, they can hear all the children running around yelling and laughing joyously. Little Rachel squeezes her fathers' hands and looks up at them excitedly. When they smile and nod at her, she jumps up and down a couple times before she takes off toward the slide. The two men watch her with love and pride in their eyes as she climbs up the little stairs and makes her way down the yellow slide with the biggest smile on her face. They find a bench where they can easily keep an eye on her and take a seat.

After going down the slide a few dozen times, Rachel makes her way over to some kids by the monkey bars. With her huge smile and bright eyes, she sticks out her hand and introduces herself.

"Hi! I'm Rachel Barbra Berry. My daddies gave me the name Barbra after the great Barbra Streisand who I aspire to be like one day. Would you like to play with me?"

The kids stare at her wide eyed for a couple seconds before telling her that she talks too much, and run away. But that doesn't deter the little diva as she makes her way across the monkey bars and tries to find another group of kids to play with. Except, every time she introduces herself and asks if they want to play with her, they end up saying something mean or just run away. Frowning, the little brunette goes over to the seesaw and sits at one end. Even though no one is on the other end, she tries to kick off the ground anyway. Her fathers are about to get up to take her home when they see a little girl approach the seesaw and Rachel's smile returns.

Rachel looks up to see a little girl with blonde hair and big hazel eyes approach her. Her heart starts to race when their eyes meet and she can't look away. The little girl smiles at Rachel and asks if she can sit on the other side of the seesaw. The brunette's ears perk up at the soft sweet voice and her cheeks become rosy at the sound. She smiles at the blonde and that's enough of an answer for her, so she shyly takes a seat on the other side. They go back and forth pushing off the ground and laughing giddily as they're propelled into the air.

When their giggling dies down and they pause momentarily because they're out of breath, Rachel introduces herself, but is sure to leave out the rant about Barbra Streisand. The blonde girl beams at her and tells her that her name is Quinn Fabray. Rachel gets little butterflies in her stomach as she rolls the name around in her head.

_Quinn Fabray._

Her cheeks flush once more as she looks at the other girl. She can see a pretty blush on her pale skin as well and a sparkle in her bright hazel eyes. She's not sure what she's feeling at the moment, so she brushes it off and they continue their teeter tottering.

The air whooshing around Rachel as she goes up and then comes down is sweet in her nose and cool on her skin. Her eyes never leave the girl across from her as everything else seems to be blurry. She can faintly hear the other kids running and squealing, but her ears are solely tuned into the blonde's giggles. Time seems to be completely still as Rachel beams at sparkling hazel eyes, and her breath catches at the returned grin.

They're completely lost in each other until their parents call them to leave. They both frown because they don't want to leave, but they wave shyly at each other and run in opposite directions to their parents anyway.

"Dad, Daddy, I made a friend!" Rachel says proudly as she grabs their hands.

"You _did_?" Hiram drawls through a huge smile.

"Yes, and her name is Quinn!" Rachel's smile never leaves her face until she falls asleep that night.

Rachel is five when she starts dreaming of hazel eyes and blush kissed cheeks.

*** QQQ

Quinn is ten when she goes to the park on a field trip with her summer camp. The camp counselors hand all the kids some bread to feed the ducks and they all get excited as they're almost swarmed. When they run out of bread, they're lead over to the playground where kids from another camp are already playing. Most of the kids race to the swings to get on them first, but Quinn goes over to the red seesaw. It's her favorite on the whole playground. She sits on one side, but frowns when she realizes there isn't anyone to balance out the other side. Kicking the dirt dejectedly she goes to get up, but is stopped by a brunette girl.

"Would you like me to sit on the other side?"

Quinn's heart starts to race and she knows her face is pink, but she nods anyway. The girl smiles at her and gets on the other side. Something about this seems familiar to both girls, and only when they're giggling in the air do they realize why. They've done this before, a really long time ago. The blonde's stomach feels funny every time she hears the other girl's melodious laughter, and her heart speeds up every time they make eye contact. Big doe eyes peer up at Quinn through extremely long lashes and she feels an intense need to give the girl whatever she wants.

The crunch of the mulch beneath her sneakers, the squeaking of the springs in the seesaw, the buzzing of bees; it's all loud in Quinn's ears, but the only thing she hears is laughter. _Her_ laughter. And her own pounding heartbeat because of _her_ laughter. That funny intense feeling is only getting worse by the minute.

After a while they get bored on the seesaw and run to the slides. Both girls giggle and race to see who can slide down the fastest. Rachel always wins, only because Quinn is letting her, but she's not going to tell her that. The smile the blonde receives when the brunette makes it to the bottom before her is worth it every time.

Quinn is frozen at the top of the slide as she watches Rachel glide down to the bottom with her hands in the air and her face lit up with excitement. She almost forgets where she is when the other girl turns to look at her with bright eyes. Tiny hands then perch themselves on tiny hips as those eyes turn disapproving.

"You're letting me win!" she huffs and then stomps her foot.

The blonde thinks that is the cutest thing she has ever seen. She then slides down and shrugs sheepishly at the brunette. Rachel then smiles at her and takes her hand, leading them over to the grass. It's the first time they physically touch one another; tingling is an understatement for what they feel.

They lie down side by side and stare up at the clouds. Well, Rachel stares up at the clouds, Quinn stares at Rachel. The warm sun shines down on her face, illuminating her profile. She's glowing and Quinn can't stop running her eyes over every inch. The way her extremely long eyelashes flutter when she blinks. The twinkle in her eyes when she smiles. The way her nose scrunches up when she squints against the sun. The plumpness of her lips when she talks. The cute dimple in her cheek when she grins. Especially the dimple. She just wants to lean over and kiss it.

She's debating with herself whether she should do it or not when a tiny finger rises up to the sky and points out a cloud that looks like a castle.

"It reminds me of the song _Castle on a Cloud _from one of my favorite musicals, _Les Miserables_."

"Do you sing?" Quinn whispers, her eyes never leaving the brunette's face.

"Yes." She answers shyly, remembering how other kids react when she talks about how she's going to be a star one day.

"Would you – can you…sing for me?" bright hopeful eyes turn to look at the blonde and when they find sincerity staring back, a huge smile takes over her face.

"_Happy days are here again, the skies above are clear again…_" hazel eyes widen in wonderment and chills break out all over her body. "_So let's sing a song of cheer again, happy days are here again…_"

Quinn has never heard anything so beautiful in all her life. The sight and sound in front of her is such an overwhelming feeling; she wishes she could freeze time and stay in this moment forever. But of course she can't because her camp counselors are blowing their whistles, which means it's time to go. She frowns deeply and tells the other girl that she has to go, but not before she leans over and kisses her cute little dimple. Rachel then absently reaches up to touch the tingling spot as she watches Quinn run to catch up with the rest of the kids.

***RRR

There's something so serene and peaceful about the playground at night. Must be because there are no screaming kids running around. This is the first time Rachel has ever snuck out of her house. She's a bit paranoid that her fathers will wake up and find her empty bed, but she makes her way to the seesaw anyway. The events from earlier that day play over and over in her mind as she takes a seat on the familiar play set. Her sophomore year in high school is proving to be a lot worse than her freshman year. Without really noticing, tears begin to fall from her eyes.

She sits there for a good ten minutes before she sees someone walking towards her, so she furiously wipes at her eyes before they can see.

"Do you mind if I sit?" the blonde girl asks gesturing to the other side of the seesaw.

Rachel shakes her head without looking up and tries to will her eyes to stay dry. The other girl rocks a little on the seesaw and waits for Rachel to make the first push. After taking a breath, the brunette kicks off the ground, starting their teeter totter. Hazel eyes watch the smaller girl carefully, waiting for her to look up. When she does, there's recognition in her brown eyes, but she doesn't say anything. It's so quiet they can hear the song of crickets. Combined with the lightning bugs all around, it's oddly comforting, so they just go back and forth for what seems like hours until Rachel finally breaks the silence.

"What has you out this late?" she asks quietly.

"I couldn't sleep. I always come here to clear my head. What about you?"

"Had a bad day and didn't feel like being home." The brunette shrugs.

"It's Friday night, don't you have plans with friends?"

"That would imply that I _have _friends."

"I'm your friend." The blonde whispers and Rachel bursts out crying again.

Strong arms wrap around her tiny body and she buries her face in a warm neck. Long slender fingers run through her hair and she can feel soft lips at her ear.

"I'd protect you if we were in the same school." Quinn murmurs and Rachel clutches at her all the more for it. "_Happy days are here again, shout it now…_" Rachel gasps at the all too familiar tune. "_There's no one who can doubt it now, so let's tell the world about it now…_" they pull apart slightly and sing the next line together.

"_Happy days are here again…_"

"You remembered." Rachel whispers in awe.

"And I'll never forget." Quinn looks into watery brown eyes and brings a hand up to cup her cheek, thumbing away a tear.

The feelings they felt for each other years before come rushing back with renewed vigor. The blonde lets out a shaky breath then leans down, leaving an inch between their lips. She gives Rachel the decision to close the distance or not. And without hesitation, she does. The electricity between them is like a magnetic field to the fireflies, making their chemistry material by the surrounding glowing green.

Rachel is fifteen when she has her first real kiss. She's dreamt of kissing these lips and now it's finally happening. Her hands make their way into silky blonde hair and she pushes up on her toes to shyly poke her tongue into an open mouth. The arms around her waist pull her closer when her tongue swirls around an eager one. When teeth pull at her bottom lip, her knees go weak, but Quinn is quick to hold her up. They pull apart and pant heavily against each other's lips. A slow smile tugs at Rachel's mouth and she lets out a puff of air.

"_Finally_."


	2. Anything Could Happen

**A/N: Shout out to my beta/co-writer, i couldnt have done this without her! so if this chapter sucks you could totally blame it on her lol jk, but i hope you like it! **

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**Anything Could Happen**

Rachel's feet hurriedly shuffle to the park. She doesn't know if Quinn will be there, but something in her tugs her harder and faster. The kiss they shared felt like a promise, but of what, she doesn't know. She hugs her jacket closer to her. She stops walking when the park comes into view to see the blonde carelessly swinging back and forth. Her blonde. Quinn must sense her presence because she looks up and abruptly stops her swing from moving.

Both girls feel everything and nothing all at once. The rush of emotion causes their brains to draw a blank as they look at each other. Curiosity. Beauty. Happiness. Sadness. Lust. Love. All of it rushing like blood to their hearts. The only thing they know at that precise moment is they don't want to be anywhere or with anyone else.

Both of them remember to breathe in the same instant, but neither notice the other taking a deep needed breath. It's funny how love can make you blind, but notice the smallest of things all at the same time. It can make the smartest person feel stupid and the dumbest person feel smart.

With her heart pounding in her ears, Rachel makes her way over to Quinn. They smile shyly at one another before taking a seat on the swings. The blonde watches as the small girl next to her digs her toes into the dirt, her head down, so her hair falls in her face. Quinn reaches a hand over and tucks the hair behind an ear, so she can see her. When Rachel smiles at her she returns the sentiment and rests her head against the chain of the swing.

"How was your day today?" Quinn asks quietly.

"Better than yesterday. A lot better." Rachel grins.

"And why's that?"

The brunette's cheeks flame and she looks away.

"Um, because I, uh, was lost in my thoughts about what happened the night before."

"Yea, me too." Quinn quietly agrees.

Rachel stutters over her words and shyly looks down.

"Y-you know, that was my first."

"First what?" It takes Quinn less than a second to realize what she means, "Oh! Yeah…no, I mean well I hope I was…I hope it was satisfying."

"It was. I really liked it. It was...impressive."

They both mentally slap themselves at their lack of better vocabulary.

"I'm sorry, I'm so nervous I can hardly come up with anything better to say."

"Rachel Barbra Berry, you expect me to believe you ever get nervous? I've never met a braver human being."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know that?"

"Because whenever I feel like I'm scared or nervous I always think back to when you went up to every kid on the playground, told them your name and put out a hand to shake, and even though each kid was mean or completely rude, you didn't give up. That's why I introduced myself to you. That's why I haven't stopped thinking about you." Quinn whispers shyly.

The words send sparks through both of them as they stay quiet. Those hazel eyes look up into Rachel's gaze and they take her breath away. They always do. The stare could make Rachel feel like she's paralyzed and like she could run for miles at the same time. Every look Quinn gives her feels heavy with meaning. It makes her feel like she means something and that's more than enough for Rachel. It's always more than enough. She knows she is worth more than her classmates make her feel. The feeling of drive and success is in her bones, and the blonde sitting on the other side of her reminds her of it, ever since they still had their baby teeth.

Rachel leans over and takes Quinn's hand in hers. Her eyes watch as their fingers intertwine and she thinks nothing has looked more perfect. Their hands are a perfect fit and it feels _right_, like she isn't meant to be holding anyone else's hand. And when the blonde rubs her thumb along hers, she _melts_. Brown eyes look up to find hazel looking at her fondly, with a hint of…is that love? Adoration? Want? But not the sexual kind, the 'I want your face to be the only face I see for the rest of my life' kind?

They stare at one another until the blonde gives a light squeeze to the hand in hers and speaks softly.

"Tell me something."

"Like what?"

"Anything." Quinn shrugs. "Something you're passionate about."

"That could take all night." The brunette giggles and Quinn smiles.

"I'm ok with that."

Rachel nods and gives her the biggest smile she's ever seen. She goes on and on about Broadway and her love of the stage. Quinn is entranced by the pure _nirvana_ radiating off the girl beside her. The sparkle in her big brown eyes as she talks about the things she loves the most is enough to light up the playground. This is it. This is the exact moment when Quinn knows she's in trouble. This five foot two, exuberant fifteen year old girl has taken up a space in her chest and sprawled out as if taking up an entire bed. So she continues to listen with rapt attention as the girl rambles about Barbra Streisand.

"_Funny Girl_ is my absolute favorite movie! The love between Fanny Brice and Nick Arnstein is romantic at first, but then it gets a bit futile, but her true love for the stage is what I admire the most. And the fact that she made her dream come true despite how she looked and the negative criticisms from everyone, is just inspiring." Rachel finishes wistfully.

With one glance at the awestruck look on the blonde's face, Rachel ducks her head shyly and bites her lip. A pale hand then pulls her chin up so her eyes are visible.

"I've never met someone so beautifully passionate in all my fifteen years of living." Quinn breathes.

"Really?"

Quinn nods then tilts forward to place a kiss on the corner of Rachel's mouth, staying there for a couple seconds before moving to her lips. Both their hearts hammer away in their chests and they think this is what life is about. This feeling is what a fortunate few find and what most won't ever encounter.

They sit on the swings, hands still locked together, rocking back and forth. Quinn tells the brunette stories about her and Frannie, how the blonde would play tricks on her older sister, but act completely innocent when confronted by her parents, so she never got in trouble. She tells her that despite those little pranks her sister would always take her places and hang out with her simply because she adored her.

"I remember this one time I put a fake furry mouse under her quilt, so when she got in to go to bed it rubbed against her bare skin. You could hear her shrieks all through the house and she ran out of her room so fast I didn't have a chance to laugh." Quinn chuckles. "Then when my father came to ask me about it I gave him the innocent 'I would do no such thing, Daddy' look and he just kissed my forehead before sending me off to bed."

"That's really mean, Quinn." Rachel disapproves.

"No, that's sibling rivalry." The blonde justifies.

She tells her that since Frannie left for college last year she's been incredibly lonely at home and she misses the older blonde more than anything. She tells her that she would tell Frannie everything because she was her best friend. She tells her that it just isn't the same without her, but she's glad she has Rachel now.

The brunette beams at Quinn and feels so elated that she completely forgets about how lonely her own life is, not including her fathers. She forgets that she's teased and singled out at school, about how she's cried herself to sleep almost every night since the beginning of freshman year up until the night before. When she's with Quinn she feels like she can get through every day and that anything is possible.

"It's getting really late." Quinn mutters and Rachel nods her head. "We should get you home. Come on, I'll walk you." The blonde gets up and tugs Rachel's hand.

They walk peacefully side by side until they stop in front of, what Quinn assumes to be, Rachel's house. The smaller girl peers up through her eyelashes to see Quinn looking down at her fondly. A pale thumb then comes up to caress her cool cheek and she melts into the contact.

"So I guess this is goodbye." Rachel whispers.

"For now." Quinn nods.

Eyes lock, and a shiver runs through their bodies simultaneously before their lips find each other in a kiss that promises something more. When they pull apart they beam at each other and Quinn quickly pecks Rachel's dimple before telling her to go inside. The diva opens the door quietly and shyly waves to the blonde before disappearing behind it. The smile on Quinn's face is permanent as she giddily skips home, but quickly because it really is late.

Both girls know this is the start of something life changing.


	3. Happy birthday, Quinn

**A/N: Thanks to Swankkyy of course for helping me, also if you see any mistakes blame her ;P**

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**Happy birthday, Quinn**

It's been a month since they've met each other on the playground again and they never missed a night of seeing each other. They would sneak out at precisely the same time and teeter on the seesaw or take turns pushing each other on the swings or just simply sit on top of the slides and talk. They've spent countless hours talking about everything and nothing, but always avoid bringing up the subject of school. Mostly because Quinn doesn't want to remind Rachel of what seems to be utter torture and Rachel doesn't want to remind Quinn that she can't be there to protect her.

Always greeting each other with a beaming smile and lingering hug when they meet then sharing a smoldering kiss that sparks up every light in the city when they leave, it's an unspoken promise to come back every day. So far it's an ongoing battle to keep three certain words from bubbling up too soon for fear of the words themselves. But both girls know it's mutual. It's in the way they look at each other. They could say nothing and know they're both thinking the same heavy words that fill their heads over and over again in cursive, in big letters and small. It could be written to the moon and back with how much they think it and maybe that sounds cheesy, but it doesn't stop them from thinking those words every second of every day. It's in the way they say each other's name, the way their bodies fit perfectly together when they hug, and in the way sparks shoot through every single nerve ending in their entire bodies every single time they kiss.

It's the night before Quinn's sixteenth birthday, so she's even more excited than usual to see Rachel. The route is so engraved into her brain that she hardly needs to pay attention when walking to the park. She sees the smaller girl and beams before scooping her up to spin her around a few times. Rachel gasps before laughing uncontrollably as Quinn sets her back down.

"You're in an awfully good mood this evening." Rachel giggles.

"Of course I am, I get to see you" The taller girl says in the sweetest voice

"Okay Romeo, but that's not all. You don't usually throw me over your shoulder." The brunette fakes a scolding look with mirth in her eyes.

Quinn bites her lip and rocks back on the balls of her feet, unable to contain her excitement.

"Does it have something to do with tomorrow?" Rachel playfully ponders. "Oh! I know! It's the first day of spring!"

The blonde huffs and rolls her eyes as Rachel stifles a laugh. A tiny hand then grabs a pale one and squeezes before warm brown eyes meet hazel.

"I know it's going to be a special someone's birthday in less than…" her eyes glance to the watch on her wrist. "Two hours. And not just any birthday, but their _sixteenth _birthday."

They smile at each other then head over to their seesaw. They move up and down as Rachel asks the other girl about what she plans on doing for her big day. Quinn just shrugs and tells her that she'll probably just go to dinner with her parents then they'll give her the presents she's sure they bought her. The brunette is a little perplexed that the girl in front of her isn't having a huge party or even a sweet sixteen. From what the blonde has told her, her parents wouldn't have the slightest problem of giving their little girl whatever she wanted.

"You're not having a party? Quinn, it's your _sixteenth _birthday! Your _sweet sixteen_, you only get one!"

"I don't really feel like having a party and people I don't know or haven't seen since I was born fawning over me all night. It's more of a hassle than fun really." She shrugs.

"Well, I guess, but I still think you should do something more. You do only turn sixteen once you know."

"Honestly, being here with you now and every night before is enough for me. I don't need a big party or a bunch of presents because I get a lot more from being with you."

Quinn shyly tucks her hair behind her ear and Rachel swoons. It's adorable how even after a month of getting to know each other the blonde still manages to get shy. They continue to push off the ground and launch into the air until they get tired and move to the slides. Lying back against the cool plastic they hold hands and gaze up at the night sky. It's clear and the stars are really bright. Quinn is counting them when she feels Rachel squeeze her hand, so she looks over to find caring brown looking back.

"Happy birthday, Quinn." Rachel whispers.

The blonde quickly looks at her watch. It is indeed her birthday. So, without saying anything Quinn leans over and takes Rachel's lips as hers. The brunette is all too willing to comply and threads her fingers through golden locks. Long slender fingers find purchase on small hips and an eager tongue pokes into an open mouth to play with its equal. A moan slips, but from whom neither girl knows. Quinn then pulls away slightly, a little breathless at the sight of the girl beside her. The moon illuminates half of her face and gives a twinkle to her eyes. Or is that because of Quinn?

"Be my girlfriend?" the blonde lets out in one breath.

"What?" Rachel asks a little caught off guard.

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?" she whispers again, looking straight into Rachel's eyes.

"No." A sharp pain shoots through Quinn's heart and she goes to pull away, but Rachel grabs her. "I would _love _to be your girlfriend."

Quinn beams and pulls the other girl back into a loving kiss. So far sixteen is looking good.

As they stay quiet from the pure happiness they both feel, Quinn feels her phone buzz in her pocket. She thinks of ignoring it, but something in her tells her it's urgent and when she looks at the ID, it's her father.

She quickly picks up the phone, but her dad is already talking.

"Quinn, where are you?"

"Sorry daddy, I went for a walk."

"Why?"

"I uh-" She looks at Rachel before answering. "I couldn't sleep."

"Well, come home. It's too late for a young lady to be wandering the streets."

It's about one thirty in the morning when Quinn quietly lets herself back into her house. She tip toes her way past the living room, but before she can get to the stairs, her father calls out her name. She's momentarily struck with fear and frozen in place. When he calls her name again, a little sterner this time, she takes a deep breath then walks to the living room. He's sitting in his favorite recliner by the fireplace, his hands folded in his lap.

"It's very dangerous this time of night. What would possess you to climb out of bed and risk yourself like that?"

"I-I just couldn't sleep daddy. I thought it'd be okay. I'm sorry." She stutters out as her eyes remain glued to the floor.

He stares at her for a very long time before sighing.

"It's dangerous out there, pumpkin. I don't want to find you coming in at this hour again, do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." She nods.

"Good, now go on up to bed, and please don't climb out your window or anything horrendous like that. I'd hate to have our trust broken, lord knows what would come over me if that happened." She turns to start up the stairs, but is stopped once again. "Oh, and Quinnie?"

"Yes, daddy?" she pops her head back into the living room.

"Happy birthday." He smiles at her.

She returns the smile then takes the stairs two at a time, her heart hammering in her chest. That was a close one.


	4. A Trip to the Mall

**A/N: I know its been like a month, but work and personal issues are a part of life, so hopefully me and Swankkyy will be able to get our shit together and get back on schedule. As always big thanks to my beta/co-writer, go show her some love. Enjoy! :)**

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**A Trip to the Mall**

It's the Monday after Quinn's birthday and though the blonde got caught, she still managed to sneak out and spend some more time with Rachel. It was the perfect weekend and now the brunette is all smiles as she walks down the hall to her locker. It's understandable that the tiny girl is completely engrossed in her head and doesn't see the head cheerleader walking towards her with a giant slushie cup. So when the ice cold corn syrup hits her square in the face and drips down into her top, she remembers where she is and what her role is in that place. A loser. Someone to pick on. The bottom feeder. Her lip starts to quiver as the malicious laughs fill her ears and her eyes brim with tears, from the stinging red dye or just plain humiliation, she isn't sure.

"Thought you looked a little too happy there hobbit."

Rachel clenches her fists at her sides and gives a huff of anger. Santana's eyebrows raise and she lets out a laugh.

"Oh, she's getting brave now?"

Rachel doesn't attempt to look anywhere but the floor.

"No, I just do not understand why I need to get slushied time and time again when I did nothing wrong to you."

Santana shrugs at the short girl.

"Because your presence alone bugs the hell out of me and don't even think about fighting back because as everyone knows, I'm not afraid to slap a bitch."

And with that the darker girl struts down the hallway leaving the pouting girl as she starts to get sticky. Rachel then makes her way to the bathroom to clean herself and briefly thinks of calling Quinn. She changes her mind at the thought of disturbing the girl while she's at school, so she finishes up then rushes off to class.

By the time school ends, Rachel has been slushied a total number of three times. She's exhausted physically and emotionally when her daddy picks her up, and he can see it. He just places a hand over hers and kisses her temple, words not needed. She's thankful for the silence, otherwise she might break and that's not something she wants to do in front of him. All she needs to do is make it home and up to her room where she can cry herself to sleep.

When they walk into the house, Leroy kisses her on the head then watches as she trudges up the stairs. He frowns before going into the kitchen to start dinner. He worries about his daughter, but he's learned to silently be there because every time he tries to voice his concern she always brushes it aside. He and Hiram have talked about going to the school, but Rachel stopped that thought right in its tracks saying that it would only make things worse. So that was the end of that and they are now silently there for their daughter.

Rachel drops her book bag on the floor then flops on her bed face down. She lets out the huge sob she was holding the entire car ride and clutches her pillow as the tears rush out. Her body shakes and her pillow is soaked with how hard she's crying, but she eventually falls asleep.

When the brunette wakes up it's after eleven. She feels how swollen her face is so she goes to take a shower before she sneaks out to see her blonde. She makes sure her fathers are asleep before going out the back door and walking the mile and a half to her favorite playground. A familiar figure sits on their seesaw and Rachel can feel herself getting worked up again, but she keeps her composure until she feels Quinn's arms around her.

"Woah, hey are you ok?"

Tears start forming as she buries herself in the taller girl's neck.

"Who could be that mean?" She whimpers.

Quinn tightens her arms around her and shakes her head. She doesn't ask what happened or who she was talking about, that'd all come out in due time. She stays there rubbing Rachel's back as the girl mumbles incoherent things in between the sobs. When she finally calms down, Quinn releases her from her hold and brushes away the wetness that streaks Rachel's flushed cheeks.

"Bad day huh?"

Rachel lets out a soft laugh that instantly makes her head ache horribly.

"You could say that." The brunette sighs then pulls Quinn down to sit on the ground with her. "The head cheerleader at my school, her name is Santana Lopez, and she gets off on tormenting me every day. She calls me names, throws ice cold slushies in my face multiple times a day…I think she goes out of her way just to make my life miserable."

Quinn's jaw clenches as Rachel spouts off all the things that happen to her day after day. She's angry that this person would do such a thing to someone as sweet as Rachel, but she's _pissed off _because she can't do anything about it. If she could march into the brunette's school and sock that privileged bitch off her high horse she would, and then some.

***QQQ

Quinn walks down the hallway with her best friend Brittany. She's venting about how much she hates not being able to help Rachel in school. The taller blonde nods along and gives advice, though not really helpful, where she can.

"I just wish we weren't in different schools, you know? I would be there for her if it wasn't for my stupid parents complaining about public school systems corrupting innocent children. What does that even _mean_?"

"I don't know, but my parents put me here because Crawford Country Day High School's cheerleader squad is one of the best dance programs around."

"Yea well, my parents aren't as mindful to my interests as your parents are, B." Quinn sighs dejectedly.

Being at Crawford Country Day hasn't really been a problem for Quinn until she met and fell in love with Rachel Berry. She would have gone to William McKinley, but her parents thought it best for their little girl to benefit from an all girls' private school. Now all the blonde can think about is how much more time she could be spending with her girlfriend if her parents weren't such bigots.

Quinn is lost in her thoughts when suddenly the cheerleader next to her squeals.

"I totes have an awesome idea, Q!" Brittany's eyes are so wide and bright with excitement that Quinn can't help but smile at her. "We should totes go to the mall on Friday and invite Rachel to come along!"

"I don't know, B." Quinn hesitates.

"Oh come on, Q. It'll be fun and I'll finally get to meet her!" Brittany pleads.

"I'm not sure what my parents will say, you know how mean they can be about her dads."

"We don't have to tell them that she's going. Just that me and you want to hang out at the mall, and then she can meet us there after your parents drop us off."

Her bright blue eyes plead with Quinn's hazel and the shorter girl finds it hard to tell her no.

"Ok, I'll ask my parents tonight."

Brittany squeals again and gives her best friend a tight hug before skipping off to class.

***RRR

Rachel waves goodbye to her dads before walking into the mall entrance that Quinn instructed her to enter through. She's a bit nervous as this is the first time she'll be with Quinn in public. Also the fact that she's meeting the blonde's best friend is pretty nerve wracking. A bunch of questions run though her head; _what's she like? Will she like me? Is she nice? Is she a cheerleader? _She shudders at that question. Just the thought of cheerleaders makes Rachel cringe. But before she can worry too much, she sees Quinn waving at her with a huge smile on her face.

"Hi!" Rachel beams back as Quinn hugs her tightly.

"Hi! Um Rachel this is Brittany, Brittany this is Rachel." Quinn gestures to both girls.

"Hello Brittany, it's nic–oh ok." She's interrupted as the tall blonde wraps her arms around the smaller girl and lifts her up in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad I finally get to meet you!" Brittany grins as she puts Rachel back down.

Quinn just smiles at them then suggests that they start walking around. Both blondes walk on either side of Rachel as they talk about random things, well Brittany really is the one talking about random things while the other two nod and laugh when appropriate.

Brittany pulls them into a couple stores and tries a bunch of things on before leading them to the next one, all the while a huge smile on her face.

"Is she always this excited?" Rachel chuckles.

"Yea, it's why I love her so much. She has so much energy and innocence about her that it's contagious. And you can't help but want to give her whatever she wants."

Brittany turns to them and says that she has to go to the bathroom and for them to keep going; she'll only be a minute.

They wave her off and turn to go into the next store when in mid stride Rachel's smile drops and she stops walking.

"Can we please look in a different shop?"

"Why? What's wrong?" Quinn asks.

Rachel closes her eyes and shakes her head in worry.

"I just really want to go in a different shop. Please."

"Oh wow, who knew man hands actually had friends?" An all too familiar voice snickers.

Rachel's face turns beet red in embarrassment for her school tormenting taking place in front of Quinn. Quinn raises an eyebrow and looks between the two girls.

"Is this the chick from your school?"

Rachel looks at her and nods her head just small enough where only Quinn notices. She sighs and turns to Santana.

"Ok look, I don't know you, but you need to lay off with the generic bullying act. It's a little ignorant."

"I'm being real. But you're right. Obviously she can't handle people being honest about her annoyingly loud need for attention or the stubble on her upper lip. It would figure Rachel could only make friends in different schools so they wouldn't see the shrieking prude she really is." Santana smirks.

Brittany comes out of nowhere and catches Quinn in mid attack. She holds her in an awkward embrace, her back to Santana.

"You're lucky the line was so short and I pee abnormally fast. What's going on?" the taller blonde asks.

"And of course she has to pick them a little slow too." Santana chuckles to her friends.

Brittany turns her head while holding a seriously angry Quinn.

"I don't know who you think you are, but that's really not nice and I don't tolerate bullying."

Quinn clenches her jaw as she gives a look of growing hatred over Brittany's shoulder. She waits for a rude remark about Brittany's ever amazing innocence, but instead she sees Santana caught off guard with her mouth almost hanging open.

Everyone stays awkwardly quiet as Santana seems to have trouble thinking of what to say next. Thankfully and conveniently the mall security comes when the tension silently grows.

"I'm sorry, but one of you needs to leave."

Without complaint Santana stumbles away. Brittany turns to Rachel and Quinn without realizing the awkward situation.

"So what was all that about? You were like, seriously pissed off."

"That _bitch_, is the one who keeps tormenting Rachel at school." Quinn seethes.

"Quinn! Language." Rachel chastises.

"Sorry." The blonde completely deflates and a sheepish smile graces her lips.

"It's fine, can we just…go?" the brunette mutters defeated.

Brittany puts her arms around both girls and leads them away. She chances a glance over her shoulder and spots a flustered looking Latina watching her. A small smile appears on Brittany's face as she's completely familiar with how the other girl reacted to her.


End file.
